Dyslexia Discovery

In early January, 2011, Parents Education Network (PEN) held their annual workshop featuring five PEN students with learning challenges who have been successful in gaining acceptance to different colleges and universities throughout the US. All of them have one or more learning challenges including dyslexia, ADD and audio processing.  The event was chaired by Eli Kersh-Oliva, program director for PEN which includes coordination of the SAFE Program*.  He posed questions and the following summarizes some of panel experiences.

Which colleges/universities are you attending?

• University of Southern California
• Mills College
• Walla Walla
• University of Iowa
• Community College

When did you decide you wanted to go to college?

• In  Grade V11
• In Junior year in high school
• When I was a little kid
• When I knew what I wanted to study: fashion
• After a gap year

Things they considered when choosing a college.

• wanted a small school because I needed one to one attention.  And, wanted a well rounded
  liberal arts education.
• applied everywhere, was good advocate for myself, looked to see what fit me best, looked for a person who would invest time with me.
• looked for a small college and structured LD (learning difference) programs.
• took a gap year after high school and then chose a community college.  I am not sure where I want to focus my education and need good learning support.
• I have a passion, fashion, and that propelled me to be interested in college.

When did you disclose you had a learning difference?

• Wrote about it in my application and then weeded out schools who weren’t interested.
  Checked out LD resources and asked what accommodations they offer. During the application process I was worried about losing my parents support at home as I have to have everything read to me. I also use Kurtzweil, a speech reader software. I chose Whitman where the Dean told all my professors about my learning challenge.
• I wasn’t afraid of disclosing my learning difference.   If they aren’t willing to both help me and give me accommodations then I knew it was not the right school for me.
• I went to a small school before Mills to gain confidence that I could be an advocate for myself.  Then, I was ready to apply to Mills.
• At a community college you don’t have to jump through hoops for LD support.  I also use
  the Intel Reader.
• I mentioned my learning difference in my application.  At Iowa State they are very helpful and take the extra step to be sure I am successful.

What special technology do you use and/or how did you build community at school?

• I use Kurtzweil, they gave me double time for an exam which I take in another room and am given a calculator.
• I have available through the college an I-Pod, Kindle, Intel Reader and Pens that record what is being taught.

• At college we created community:  Learning Styles Coalition.  We are involved in Project Eye to Eye, a national program developing a coalition of mentoring programs for students labeled with learning disabilities. Now, fifteen of us are mentoring in the Walla Walla Schools.
• I am in a large university (USC) and they have an extensive learning department.  Every class has a note taker and their notes are put on-line. We have a silent commons where kids who have learning disabilities can go twenty-four hours a day. Right next to it is the Writing Center where there are TA (technical assistants) in many fields to help us.  I get help with grammar from them.
• In my college there is no assistive technology so I work with TA’s and professors and have
  extended time for exams.
• At Mills there is a large population with learning disabilities.  I feel very comfortable talking about my issues.
• At my community college there is very little LD community.  My friends who are LD and ADHD are my friends and we help each other.
• I get extra time and I take classes (like sewing) to balance the academic work.   There  isn’t much community, except with my friends.

What are the differences between high school and college?

• Time management is a big issue.  In school we were in class from 8:15 to 4 pm.  In college we may have only two classes a day.  I had to find a place where I could study.  And, I really learned to be a self advocate.  My Mum did most of that in high school.
• At the beginning of each semester I offer to take my professors to coffee and tell them about my learning difference and what I need.
• In high school I had close relationships with my teachers.  In college if you fail he won’t be there for you.  It’s up to you in college.  It’s very important to get the teacher in line with you.  Make sure they know your name and that you are trying.
• In high school there was very little curriculum choice whereas in college you choose what you want to study. It’s very important to be passionate about what you choose to learn.
• In college you have to take the entire experience in your hands.
• Parents absence is a big change.  Those struggles makes you stronger, a better advocate for yourself.  A planner is essential.  Write it all down.
• In college you are a face in the crowd.  To achieve you need to know the things you are good at and vice versa.  College can be a big change.
• I learned you have to go to office hours and talk about the test with the professors. You can raise your grade by keeping in close contact with your professor.  And, be sure to get a reader if you need one.
• Communicating in college with your class mates is very important.
• Find people who study like you do.

Think back to your freshman year, what stands out as most important?

• Self Advocacy is most important.  Parents, ask yourself, have you prepared your
  child to be a self advocate?
• Take a light load in the 1st semester.  It’s a lot just to start college.
• Make sure the professor cares about you.

What did your family do for you when you were in school?

• I started to do panels in grade 7.
• I did role playing with others to learn how to be a self advocate.
• My parents called a teacher to tell them that I was coming to ask for something and asked that they give me space and listen to my request.
• I learned to advocate for myself.
• I was the black sheep of the family.  I never took my parents seriously.  I learned by being in a LD community.   Safe Voices, a project of PEN, taught me how to advocate.

Summary Comments:

• Self advocacy is the key.
• Check out who is the person in each class who sits in the front row.  They are generally a “know it all”. Get into their study group.  I don’t always disclose about my learning challenge at the outset with those groups. If there is a creative aspect I ask to do that.
• Professors can be creepy.  They have brains but mostly no facial expressions. So get to know them.  If they deny you what you need, go to the administration and ask for intervention. Before you go, send the professor an e-mail with the request.  Once you have the denial written down, take it to the administration and ask for intervention. That ends that. Remember it’s your right to have accommodations.
• Parents: let your kids make mistakes.
• Students: have a good time at college, don ‘t study all the time.  Don’t let parents affect your thinking so that you lose your perspective.  Make friends with those who have similar study patterns.
• In high school I was lost and only thought about girls.  In college I found my passion. Don’t worry about motivation, find the passion.
• Gap year is a good way to become re-invigorated.

*SAFE (Student Advisors for Education) is a student community that strives to educate, mentor,
and support students, parents and teachers regarding the challenges and strengths of LD and ADHD students.  This unique group of teens is passionate about learning differently, pursuing
their fullest potential and spreading awareness of their capacity for academic and life success.

This blog is written by Ann Farris, a dyslexic/hyperlexic.

In early December PEN (Parents Education Network) hosted two speakers from the Abbey Neuropsychology Clinic,  Richard D. Abbey, Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychologist and Diana Barrett, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist. Their focus  was three complex issues: Depression, Anxiety and Learning. I was impressed with the ease that these two specialists shared the podium as they imparted their expertise. A more detailed background on both speakers can be found at the conclusion of this blog.

They began their morning talk with a focus on depression, advising us that it appears differently with children and adults.   For a child, irritability is a key element.  They become very edgy and display a lack of interest in something that they previously very much enjoyed, walking away from any involvement with it or others. Whereas a tip the speakers provided to indicate whether an adolescent might be in a depressed state is sleeping till noon or complaining about a tummy ache. These are safer ways for an adolescent to express depression.  If there evolves a pre-occupation with poetry whose topic is life threatening, it could mean the adolescent is exploring the possibility.  The challenge for a parent is discovering whether the comments are simply anxiety which interferes with a child’s functioning or whether the issue comes from a depressed state.

Often depression comes when there is a problem with learning. This causes emotional issues. Ask yourself the question: are the emotional issues out of control?  Or is depression causing a learning problem? It is clear that when a child, adolescent or adult is depressed, this state interferes with other and important daily functions.

The frontal lobe of the brain is where Executive Functioning (ie: skill building) occurs. It can be one of the first segments of the brain affected by depression or anxiety. Kids who can’t keep information being taught in their mind are offering a good clue that this skill is not working well.  Perhaps the school teachers are unable to track the child’s reading skills which can result in their teaching approach not matching the way the child learns. When a student hears from a teacher: ”try a little harder”  or, “we just told you” when they are not doing what is being asked, more than likely the child/adolescent internalizes, “I am stupid.”  This can lead to depression.

There is another clue:  Is the student taking a long time to accomplish a task, especially if there is sequence of tasks to accomplish with the project. This inability can lead to the student getting caught up in right and wrong.  And, then they begin to say to themselves if I can’t do it perfectly I am not going to do it at all.  Their anxiety becomes dominant.

These are some questions the speakers provided to begin assessing whether your child/adolescent is experiencing anxiety or depression:

1. Is anything significantly different in any domain of your child’s life?

2. Is their day to day functioning different from the norm?

3. Does the child have a problem reading aloud. Do they lose their place, skipping
words or replacing words?

4. With Executive Functioning: is there a switching of letters and numbers? Can they sort out a lot of information being taught? does their attention keep varying?

5. Are you concerned that your child may not be safe?

There are solutions/interventions to these tell tale signs:  A few are listed below.

1. Professional emotional and learning assessments to diagnose what is happening with your child.

2. Cognitive Behavior Therapy. The process focuses on solving problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions:  I looked up the word “cognitive” on Wikipedia for a definition. It refers to the following skills: attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. The speakers had some good news about the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Therapy confirming that 75% of the time there is some kind of improvement with anxiety and depression.

3. Medications:  The speakers did not spend much time on this topic. They did comment that kids on medication do seem to have a working memory problem.  This is a controversial issue which has been discussed at PEN many times.  See former PEN and Emotion blogs within my various blogs for more information.

3. Reading interventions.  The speakers cautioned parents to undertake due diligence before taking action.  Some therapies only look at a part of the problem – which may or may not be appropriate for your child.  For an overview the speakers recommend using the National Reading Panel.  http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org.

4. Executive Functioning Coaching.  The need for this skill may not present itself until college level.  When it does, coaching is very important.  Each person needs to learn
how to plan, how to live with goal oriented behavior.

5. Software:  These speakers were promoting the use of a Pulse Pen.   It records what is being said and relieves the need for the listener to take notes.  They also mentioned the Intel Reader which was discussed in more detail in the previous PEN blog.

6. Cogmed:  This process helps improve working memory, expand attention and executive functioning.   http://www.cogmed.com/about-working-memory

7. What to do at home:  Adjust expectations of your child:  Set realistic goals. schedule free time along with time with you, the parent.  Have a listening ear, find a way to bring up the topic you want to discuss or to hear more about from them.

8 School:  School placement is very important.  See previous PEN blogs on this topic.

These speakers gave me a giggle when they said:  We have never spoken to a parent who didn’t think that they were right.  A part of me, Ann, who is writing this blog and is not a parent, sees that part of needing to be right in myself.  It takes time to undo that belief. If you, as parent are so challenged, give yourself time to learn more about the topic. Yes, I know sometimes that’s a difficult step for a parent to take. Our ego can make it difficult for us to accept there is a learning challenge. Your goal is to keep the best interests of the child to the fore. Here’s a sobering comment made by the speakers. There is evidence now that if one parent experiences depression, the risk for the child developing depression goes up. So, if you as parent experience the same issues as the child, the speakers said it helps the child if the parents also do the interventions.

The speakers urged the parents to go to gatherings, like EdRev in San Francisco, a yearly event produced by PEN which occurs at the Giant’s Baseball Park.  Here parents can intermingle with hundreds of other parents and learning specialists and Depression, ansietydiscover ways to increase their knowledge base on the issues facing their child.

Remember, the brain is neuroplastic, it can and does change!

______________________________________________________________________________

The speakers were:

Dr.Richard Abbey is a clinical neuropsychologist who specializes in assessment,  diagnosis, and treatment of ADHD, learning disorders, and other neurocognitive and emotional conditions. Prior to opening the Abbey Neuropsychology Clinic in Palo Alto, Dr. Abbey was a clinical faculty member at Stanford University School of Medicine/Lucille Packard Hospital. His areas of specialty include ADHD (and non-medication based interventions for ADHD), learning disorders, pediatric brain tumors, autism, and treatment of neurocognitive deficits.

Diana Marchetti Barret, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who assesses and diagnoses  learning disorders, developmental disorders (e.g. autism, aspergers), mood disorders, and ADHD. Dr. Barrett completed post-graduate work at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute and post doctorate training at Stanford University School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Barrett also has specialty training in Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, non-medication treatment for ADHD, and Pivotal Response Training (PRT) for Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The speakers can be reached through:  Abbey NeuroPsychological Clinic located in Palo Alto, CA.  They offer ccomprehensive neuropsychological evaluations for infants, children, and adults.  http://www.abbeyneuropsychologyclinic.com

Ben Foss,  Executive Director of Disability Rights Advocates, was a recent guest lecturer at Parents Education Network in San Francisco.  This talk provided some advice for parents who are stymied by the  schools systems when they are being an advocate for their child and his or her  learning challenges.

Mr. Foss is a dyslexic, a fact that  was identified early in elementary school.  His parents were his advocates with the  result of him being placed in special education classes. His nonverbal,  picture-based intelligence was found to be in the superior range. His greatest  difficulty was written language. In middle school he was mainstreamed into  regular school classes where he was able to develop his strengths, all the  while hiding his dyslexia. Law School pushed him to the breaking point. He could no longer hide the fact that he was dyslexic. Thus began a journey of self-discovery that ultimately led him to become an activist in the field of disability rights.

Mr. Foss recommended five steps parents and their child can take with the school systems:

1.       Identify the issues.

It’s important to get a profile of your child. Engage your child and find out where their issues lie. Outline what are the approaches that give your child difficulties. Look for markers. Is the school too demanding for  your child?  Remember, your responsibility is to support your child, be your child’s advocate. State your goals  to solve this issue.

2.       Empower  the child

a.       Check to be sure the child wants to stay in the school.  Engage the child on the child’s terms asking them what they want.

b.       Sit with your child and teach them why a test is important.

c.       Describe to your child how their attitude affects how well they will do in school work.

d.       Teach them to stand up and be independent, speaking up for themselves.

e.       Explore all forms of technology with your child to see where there is a tool that makes the child independent.

3.       Know the law.

Early in your child’s education process find out the requirements for the SAT, the nation’s most  widely used college admission exam. While the date of that exam for your child may be ten years away, the  documentation that you keep will have a major impact on the conditions under which your child takes this test. The goal is to serve the child while not having to engage the law in the process. While it’s important to have the law the goal is to resolve the issue without having to use the law force. Mr. Foss recommends you consider the law a bodyguard that never does anything but looks menacing. And, remember:  document, document, document.

4.       Engage  the school.

Be an advocate for your child at the school. And, have your child learn how to advocate for themselves at school. Let them show the school administration and teachers that they want to become independent.

As a parent, advocate for the accommodations you feel your child needs . Remember, your child wants to keep up with fellow students.  That fact is very important to them. Accommodations can make that possible.

Mr. Foss described his story about creating a device which made him independent.  After Stanford Law School he joined Intel and created the Intel reader which takes text and reads it aloud.  Now he could access the written word much more easily. Mr. Foss commented that there are many similar products now available.  He said some   kids resist using this machine because of their concern that they are not learning in the same way as their classmates. The goal is to help them  see that they can learn faster with the technology.  Sometimes this helps them overcome the embarrassment of using the machine.

5.       Fine Tune your approach.

a. Remember: teachers don’t think about your child. Most just want the learning challenged kids to be sent to special education classes. This means the teacher will just have to deal with the ”regular” student.

b. Re-examine your strategy with your child.  Make sure it includes discovering how to help them overcome their internal monologue that tells them they are the black sheep.  If you ignore this behavior, it will stay with them.  Parents must make overcoming this attitude  part of your strategy with your child.

2.   Know the law.  There are two critical laws that protect students in  education.

“504″  – Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This law prohibits discrimination in ANY program that receives federal funding.

• “504 Plan” It’s an individualizd assessment and plan.  This plan must reasonably accommodate your child’s specific learning disabilities so that
  his/her needs are met as adequately as the needs of students without
  disabilities. Examples of reasonable accommodations:

- Extended time, preferred seating in the front of the classroom, access to assistive technology.

• “IDEA”  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  This Federal law applies
  exclusively to education and provides special education to ensure that the
  students benefit from their education. There are stringent requirements: eg:
  the student must qualify under a “specific learning disability. Contained
  in IDEA is the IEP Plan, (individualized  education plan) which states the education must meet the needs of each student’s unique learning strategies.

Parents must request assessment for school evaluation in writing. The IEP  meeting is to involve the student, parents, administrators and teachers. The discussion will focus on:

1.  Present level of performance

2.  Goals and objectives for student

3. Services required to achieve goals

Measurements of success

Progress reports, Discussion of services (“placement”).
There is a strong presumption in the law that students should learn alongside the general education students.

Parents remember:  document, document, document.  Year after year be sure to have a folder with summaries of all the discussions and other pertinent information.  You will need it when the S.A.T. time comes to get accommodations for your child.

Should the above fail, here are some organizations to approach for help:

1. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund:   In Northern California, 510
   644 2555.  iephelp@dredf.org
2. National Center for Learning Disabilities “IDEA”  parent guide. http://www.ncld.org/publications-a-more/parent-advocacy-guides/idea-parent-guide3
3.   Wrights Law: www.wrightslaw.com
4.   U.S. Department of Education – Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.  http://idea.ed.gov
   note: this website, although thorough and accurate, is highly technical

Parents Education Network (PEN) hosted members of the Northern California Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (NCBIDA) as they presented the latest version of Experience Dyslexia® a popular learning disabilities simulation. This hands-on experience was initially developed in the 1980′s by the California State Board of Education. Subsequently the process was taken over by NCBIDA. Over the years the content has been updated several times.

The simulation gives the participants an opportunity to discover some of the challenges and frustrations faced by people with dyslexia. As a reminder, dyslexia is a language-based learning disability.  The International Dyslexia Association further defines it by stating the condition refers to a cluster of symptoms which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading.  Spelling, writing and pronouncing words can also be challenging.

Experience Dyslexia® provides an opportunity for non dyslexic-parents, teachers and others – to immerse themselves in the inner turmoil world of a dyslexic.  Six  learning stations each with a different focus give insight into the lives of individuals with dyslexia.  The participants were warned in advance that this simulation was created to be stressful and in some cases fatiguing and emotional. The intention is to offer a true experience of the challenges a dyslexic experiences with the goal of enabling the participants to become more empathetic with the dyslexic student or adult.

What follows is a brief summary of the focus on each station.

Station 1: Learn to Read simulated a beginning reading problem.  The participants were asked to associate visual symbols with sounds to identify words and comprehend the story.  I was the leader of this Station.  There was only one individual in the more than sixty who was able to master the process. At the conclusion participants in each group offered a short assessment of the experience.  They were amazed at how difficult reading was. Some of the words they used to describe the experience were frustration, fear, embarrassment and more.

Station 2: Listen to Me simulated an auditory figure-ground problem. Participants put on a head set and listened to a CD to discriminate between important auditory information (figure) and non-essential background “noise” (the ground) while filling out a worksheet.  For some dyslexics this noise becomes intensified and hearing almost impossible.

Station 3: Write with Mirrors simulated a visual-motor and writing problem. Participants are asked to trace and draw while viewing their work through a mirror.  This simulates the difficulty some students have with fine motor skills for handwriting and the frustration that can occur when students realize their written work is not up to par.

Station 4: Name That Letter simulated a letter-word identification problem. Several letters, r, b, d, g, p, q can be read in the reverse by dyslexics. Participants were asked to read a mirror image of a poor quality copy of a story discovering what it feels like when they have trouble learning to correctly name the letters and associate them with their correct sound.

Station 5: Write or Left simulated the experience of a copying and writing problem which is caused by the lack of automaticity in letter formation.  Clues that this issue is manifesting are slow and laborious writing and frequent self correction when writing. Participants were asked to complete tasks using their non-dominant hand.

Station 6: Hear and Spell simulates an auditory discrimination problem.  Participants are asked to spell a list of words which are dictated three times.  Each time there is a different voice distortion which makes it difficult to clearly hear the words.  This task simulates what it might be like to have a weakness in auditory processing.  For some people with dyslexia it is difficult to remember the number and sequences of sounds within a word.

By the end of the evening this group of parents, teachers and others were exhausted but grateful. Thankful they had some insight into a dyslexic’s challenges.  Nancy Redding, the host for the evening,  reminded us that no two people with dyslexia are alike.  And, she commented that dyslexics are often creative, intelligent with vision and hearing. It’s the areas of language where the dyslexic seems to struggle.

At the conclusion a few of the comments by the participants about the experience were:

• I understand students better
• I feel frustrated
• I am exhausted.
• I wanted the “teacher” to shut up
• I wanted to cheat and look at my neighbors paper

The Experience Dyslexia® — A Learning Disabilities  Simulation kit can be purchased.

The kit includes: Inventory of materials, facilitator’s introductory and final summary scripts, dyslexia fact sheets, individual station instructions, scripts, worksheets and two CDs.

Additional material that the purchaser would need to buy separately are mirrors, pencils, CD players, listening centers/headsets.  The cost of Experience Dyslexia® is $275 plus shipping.

The kit can be used repeatedly for teacher in-service trainings and parent education programs.  It might be a good investment for your school or organization.  Contact NCBIDA at http://www.dyslexia-ncbida.org/simworkshop.html.

Simulation Workshops:  Experience Dyslexia® — A Learning Disabilities Simulation can be presented by the NCBIDA to interested schools or organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. This cost is $400 for groups of 30 – 60  participants.  Requests should be submitted 6 weeks in advance of your desired date.  Contact: www.dyslexia-ncbida.org/simulations.html.

Finally, a 2008 study from researchers at Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) using materials from the NCBIDA simulation clearly showed that participation increased awareness of dyslexia among teachers-in-training. The simulation has been shown to be an effective teaching tool.

Listen to the audio version of the blog:

In early October Parents Education Network sponsored a Saturday morning discussion on the process of choosing a Preschool or Kindergarten for a child who has special needs. The focus was FINDING THE RIGHT MATCH.

Two professionals working in San Francisco took the stage for the first half and four parents were highlighted during the latter part of the morning.  Both segments were chock a block full of advice.

Starting the morning off were:

Leslie Roffman, Director of The Little School in San Francisco. In her preschool, each year 15%  of the new class has special needs.  She refers to these children as “bumpy kids”. Ms. Roffman has written a book on the topic; Including One, Including All: A Guide to Relationship-Based Early Childhood Inclusion.

Fiona Zecca, MA has an extensive experience including handling special needs students at the San Francisco Unified School District. Currently, she is a consultant and offers Sensory Social Playgroups.

Their presentation began with an upbeat statement:  There exists a school for every child.  The caveat is that there is no perfect school.

Now, to their recommendations andcomments for parents:

1.       Come up with a sane plane for identifying a preschool or kindergarten.  One that includes your fondest hopes/dreams along with a realistic statement of what you would accept.  In other words, broaden your point of view.

2.       Be willing to see your child clearly.  Parents tend to overestimate their child’s
capabilities. Take time to imagine them in a school setting and assess what you feel is the best they will do along with the worst. Remember a school environment for a bumpy child is much more demanding than the home environment.  Ask yourself the question:  Does your child need a more supportive learning environment? Nothing is more exhausting for both parent and child if the child is simply trying to keep up in the learning environment.

3.      Research and experience has shown that the emotional state of parents impacts the child.

4.       The Little School is looking for parents who trust and support the school and are willing to be involved.

5.       Visiting potential schools:

a)  Make a list of the bumpy child’s strengths and challenges using the following categories to organize your thoughts: social, emotional, learning skills, sensory behavior, and physical challenges as well as attributes. One way to assess your child’s need, in part, is to watch how your child interacts at a birthday party.  Does he or she seek the stimulation or prefer to be quiet?

b) When visiting a potential Preschool use this check list and complete during your visit:

Environment: If your child is one that needs space, does the preschool offer this?  Is there a break area where the child can have his or her own space? Is the environment visually over loaded or very organized?  What variety of seats do they offer: comfortable chairs, carpeted floor, colorful balls etc.  What does your child respond best to?

Curriculum:  Find out what is the curriculum and see what it might mean to your child. If your child is stronger in learning than social interaction, perhaps you want an academic environment.

Structure:  how many transitions in a day are there?   Is there a warning to the youngsters before the transition?  Does your child need breaks? Ms.Roffman has found that bumpy kids usually are best in a consistent environment.

Philosophy of the school:   Is there an overall plan or is the process individualized?  Is it okay if the child fidgets?

Social/emotional curriculum: Is the school only academic or is there a social component?  Is it okay to have a learning difference? Is it okay to make a mistake?   What is the school’s approach to different learning styles? Do they adapt the curriculum to the learning style?

How does the school work with families?  Are they open to this?

Now comes crafting the plan for determining which preschool or elementary school to approach.  You need several options for your child.

1.       Pre-school:  if you have a child who is going to need more support, apply to more schools.

2.       Elementary: Elementary schools require screenings/interviews. If you apply to many of them be aware that this will put extra stress on your bumpy child.

With screenings the bumpy child is likely not to do his or her best. It’s etter to describe your child’s difficulties as well as their strong points in advance. Parents who reveal to the schools during the application process that their child has a learning challenge usually have a better relationship  with the schools than those who don’t reveal. Ms. Roffman stated that she has never seen an educator who pays more attention to reports than the screening. To prepare your child for the screening, in advance of the screening, go to the school with your child and play on the playground. Take pictures of the school and put them on your refrigerator.  When starting kindergarten, cut out all outside activities.

Be sure to have a mix of schools to approach including a) your neighborhood school (caveat: if you like it), b) school you think would be most supportive for your  child c) fondest hope and wish d) a school that’s better than your least favorite school.  And, if you have a bumpy kid, include a good number of public schools.

Research the San Francisco Unified School District website:            http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/programs/files/special-education/.

Finally, pre-school and elementary schools will accept bumpy kids within the limits of who they can teach. In other words, they take kids they can understand. They are more likely to take bumpy kids when they sense the parents will partner with them.

The second part of the morning involved four parents who have bumpy kids. The overall message was:  there is a lot of agony in the process but in the end the child seems to end up in the right place.  Have faith, it will work out.

The following are a few of their comments.

• Sometimes parents get so anxious over the process that it becomes anxiety for its own sake. It was strongly recommended that parents find networks of other parents who are going through the same process.  Learn from each other,  gather intelligence from each other.  Two organizations to approach are:

Parents for Public Schools:  www.ppssf.org

Support for Families:  www.supportforfamilies.org

Several of the parents discovered that the San Francisco Unified School System has a more inclusive and varied program for bumpy kids than private schools.  And, they are more accommodating to the parents points of view.  It is also financially much more attractive.Parents of kids enrolled in private schools may need to finance extra help for their child.  During the interview be sure to ask what special services the private school offers.

A couple of the parents recommended getting the child evaluated as soon as it appears the child is struggling. The SF Unified School System offers the testing process which provides an IEP, Individualized Education Program, for parents and others. The child must be 3 years or older to be tested. One parent approached the preschools with an IEP in hand. They got their 4th choice in public school.  It is working out well and they re-evaluate each year. The child is smart and intelligent but doesn’t deal well with transitions.  They find the educators are willing to hear from the parents and have the goal of their child being successful.

One parent recommended developing a script for approaching each school. She tried her script out at a Catholic School.  It included what she thought the school would discover challenging about her child and said she was willing to partner with them.

One parent re-iterated what the professionals had said earlier:  Make sure you know and see your child as he or she really is, not as you want them to be.  Be prepared that the teachers and educators may have a different idea of what is best for your child.  Don’t put your eggs all in one basket.  Apply to several public and private schools.

One parent describing the emotional journey recommended channeling the anxiety into the information gathering process. Support groups for parents are important.

Remember, check your ego at the door.  Apply to the schools that are the best for your child.

One parent summed it up.  Your choices are important but not irrevocable.  Your decisions are a work in progress.

Listen to audio version of blog

The 2011/12 Parents Education Network lecture series in San Francisco began with a bang, a powerful bang.  The lecturer, Dr. Leyla M. Bologlu, shared advice that made my heart sing.  She underscored the importance of good, thorough evaluation for both ADHD and learning difficulties stating that the faster the parents take action the better.  It is now proven that early intervention can impact neurological change. The goal is to ensure that the child has a healthy psychological life as he or she goes through the challenges of the learning process.

Some clues: A child exhibiting behavioral issues is a flag that the problem could generate from  a brain-based neurological issue. (A dyslexic has different neurological pathways.)  Or a child exhibiting executive functioning shortcomings as a result of the brain’s inability to manage learning activities may be experiencing ADHD.

Dr. Bologlu gave a graphic description of the brain’s development. The infant brain is relatively smooth.  As the child grows and develops the complexity of bumps and squiggles on the brain increases from experience and exposure.  This description had me wondering how physically crisscrossed is my brain from my dyslexia and hyperlexia.  It wasn’t until I was in my forties when I learned i am dyslexic and in my sixties when I discovered that my real issue is hyperlexia meaning I had trouble in imaging words which are essential for reading and aural comprehension.

The lecture moved on to many types of specialists.  At the outset is the need for parents to identify a competent evaluator who is comfortable embracing specialists in several different fields with discreet skills to address particular shortcomings.   Dr. Bologlu reminded us that kids want to do well.  The adult team needs to discover what is holding them back, what skill set they are missing and sets in motion the steps necessary to improve the ability of the child to learn.

The path Dr. Bologlu recommends to identify the learning challenge includes.

1.       Obtaining a clear statement from the school with details of what seems to be going on/what are their concerns?  If it is you, the parent, who is recognizing there is an isuue, ask for a meeting at the school to check out your hunch.

2.       The next step is identifying a highly qualified educational therapist ( with a master’s degree) who knows and works with a battery of tests available and has experience with children of your child’s age. Tests include:

• Administration of cognitive tests  (not an IQ test)
• Academic achievement tests
• Other screenings/tests including but not limited to: Slingerland,  Levine,  language development/auditory processing, phonological awareness, visual-motor integration etc.

3.       Specialized testing includes:

• Speech & Language Evaluation (be sure the tester has at least an master’s level education)
• Occupational Therapy:  These evaluations and treatments are specific to motor
  development, sensory-motor integration and nonverbal weaknesses.
• Psycho-educational Evaluation:  Be sure the consultant has a PhD in clinical psychology.  The evaluations involve IQ testing, achievement tests, behavioral
  questionnaires, social/emotional testing.
• Psycho-educational Evaluation.  Be sure the consultant has a PhD in clinical psychology.  The evaluations involve IQ testing, achievement tests, behavioral questionnaires, social/emotional testing.
• Neurpsychological Evaluation.  This can include testing for intellectual skills  (IQ testing), as well as congnitive functioning ability which may involve testing for skills in a) language (expressive/receptive), b) visio-spatial/visio-perceptual function c) memory, d) attentional systems, e) executive functioning, f) fine and gross motor functioning, g) sensory integration and more.

The Educational Therapist oversees the testing process.  When she/he receives the assessments from other specialists, she/he draws conclusions and makes recommendations to the parents.  The Educational Therapist must provide the names of the suggested treatment providers – more than one for each type of service.  In addition, the Educational Therapist should make contact with all of the treatment providers recommended to outline the reason for the referral, the treatment focus and the number of sessions per week needed.

Additional appropriate support may include:

1. behavior support in the classroom and at home
2. sensory motor support – handwriting
3. executive functioning skill support (study skills, breaking down large assignments)
4. medication management.  I found it interesting that Dr. Bologhu’s point of view on medication is that it may help with behavior but not with the core issue.

At the conclusion of this lecture the President and Co-Foundter of PEN, Dewey Rosetti, when thanking Dr. Bologlu for her remarks commented:  If only we had had this kind of information ten years ago, what a difference it would have made!  I agree and am just grateful that teh PEN lucture series exists so parents now have the information to take reasoned steps with their child’s learning challenge.

This blog is recorded.  Just click on the following link.Dino Di Donato

Dino Di Donato, MFT, a specialist in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was a speaker at Parents Education Network in mid-May.  His topic:  Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Executive Functioning Challenges.  

Mindfulness is a skill that allows one to be less reactionary. Its primary force is teaching self regulation. Its derivation is Buddhist psychology and comes from Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha, who founded Buddhism almost 2,500 years ago. In current day, mindfulness is often taught independent of any religious or cultural connotation. Mindfulness (meditation) is a way of paying attention, “bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis” (Marlatt & Kristeller, 1999, p. 68). This skill gives the person with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) tools for moment to moment self regulation of emotional, cognitive and behavior responses, essential for effective Executive Functioning.

When I think of Executive Functions my thoughts run to the responsibilities of the top echelon of a corporation. I have discovered that’s too limiting a perspective.  According to Wikipedia the term is employed by psychologists and neuroscientists to describe a loosely defined collection of brain processes that are responsible for planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, rule acquisition, initiating appropriate actions and inhibiting inappropriate actions, along with selecting relevant sensory information.

Mr. Di Donato further defines it as a neuropsychological term to describe higher level cognitive abilities enabling an individual to successfully engage in independent goal-directed behavior. Mr. Di Donato says there are longitudinal studies of those who meditate which support the theory that the function of neurological structures of the brain can change over time with cognitive practices relating to meditation.

A child or adult with ADHD and other diagnoses often reacts with inappropriate actions.  There are many reasons for this behavior.  Any person with or without ADHD can be impaired when he or she picks up the language of what they hear around them. The reason:  language serves to shape the development of an individual’s perception of their personal reality. If a parent uses the language of depression the child picks it up constructing their view of the world based on their parent’s reality. The problem is the child is not able to separate the message and the content. When this happens the limbic system, associated with the fight or flight response in the brain, releases adrenalin into the body which cannot then reasonably respond to the moment/event at hand. The child or adult with ADHA can go off on an emotional tangent without the benefit of the cognitive process supported by yet another part of the brain, the cortex.  

One developmental aspect of executive functioning Mr. Di Donato discussed was the need for verbal problem solving and learning for most individuals with ADHD.  The internal monologue that beings to develop in early childhood and grows into adulthood through executive functioning is generally delayed or limited for people with challenges to executive functions.  

Kids and adults with ADHD will see the broad pictures, and even see the relationships between things that other cannot see, but can’t find a way to describe it.  If they are male, their excitement may come across as arrogant. If they are female they might seems overly emotional. This difficulty in communication due to emotional overload can cause problems in school, the workplace as well as at home with the family. This is where mindfulness comes in. 

Mr. Di Donato had many suggestions for application of mindfulness theory for parents in the audience. One focused on how to help a kid with ADHD who constantly needs explanations to statement. e.g. A parent may say:  we have to leave.  The answer is: why? This kid wants to know how you came to this conclusion.  Even though you may not think you have the time to give the answer, if you break down the sequences and then synthesize the information, putting it back together again for the ADHD child chances are you will get cooperation. And, if you offer your child the opportunity to learn the skills of mindfulness this practice can shift what is going on in the brain and how the brain functions.

 Some scientific studies proving the value of mindfulness can be found at the following institutions:

• National Institute of Mental Health:  www.nimh.nih.gov.    
• MIND Institute, UC Davis.  http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/research/clinicalstudies.html 

Centers in the San Francisco Bay Area who teach Mindfulness for adults include:

Osher Center for Integrative Medicine:

http://www.ucsfhealth.org/services/mindfulness-based_stress_reduction

California Pacific Medical Center’s Health and Wellness Center:

www.cpmc.org/services/outpatientrehab/sportswellness

Spirit Rock:  www.spiritrock.org

First Universalist Church in San Francisco: Vipassana meditation group

www.uusf.org 

And, for students in the San Francisco Bay Area check out:

Day Park School in Oakland and/or 

http://www.mindfulschools.org      Contact Laurie Grossman: 510 535 6746 Laurie@mindfulschools.org.

Dino Di Donato can be reached at dinomft@pacbell.net or 415 431 3466. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Dino Di Donato’s discussion on mindfulness was the last PEN lecture for the 2010/2011 season. I find it encouraging that the PEN Lecture programmers pick up on concepts that are shared by speakers throughout the school year.  It is not uncommon that a new concept introduced by a speaker becomes a topic for another lecture.  Such was the case with this final lecture.  The concept was introduced by Todd Rose during his PEN lecture to school teachers. Soon after Dino Di Donato was invited to share mindfulness details with the PEN audience. These PEN programmers keep current!

During EdRev at the Giants Baseball Park in April, 2011, Parents Education Network (PEN) invited two specialists in social learning, Dominique Baudry, MS.,ED and Jahna Pahl, MA to present a seminar.  Their topic, The Art of Friendship, focused on tools a youngster, especially between the ages of 8 and 13, needs to embrace to be successful in building friendships.

These skills can be very challenging for kids with learning differences and ADHD especially those who are “hard-wired” for science.  Because these kids aren’t wired to notice, accurately interpret and respond to the “soft stuff” (the social stuff) that happens between people they need to learn how to “play the social game. Effective social behavior involves thinking about another person when you are with them. It also requires paying attention to how your words and behaviors are causing the other person to respond to you.  It might mean adjusting what you are doing to keep them comfortable with you while you are together.

One student defined a friend as someone who she sees every day.  There was no mention or indication of interaction. Our seminar leaders provided this definition:  A friend is someone you have shared interests with, you do things with, someone you spend time with outside of school building shared experiences. Friends care about each others’ feelings, don’t hurt each other on purpose, and work at fixing it if feelings do get hurt.  There is a give and take in the friendship.

Warning signs:

Kids who say:  nobody talked to me at school today.  Or, are the ones who read a book for recess are giving a message. They are challenged by the prospect of connecting with others.  Our social learning specialists encourage these youngsters to see that it’s important to be near other people, and to check out what that group is doing.  Most often friendships start out as an acquaintance – maybe in a workshop, or the school room. Moving to friendship takes time, repetition, and regularity.

Advice for  teachers:

 Be sure your student knows how to be an effective listener.  Encourage them to watch the other’s body language and facial expressions while listening to the tone of voice. An effective listener speaks and responds to what the speaker is communicating through their words and through their non-verbal communication.  This way the person who is speaking feels listened to. 

Skills of conversing.  The challenge for “rigid thinkers” is learning how to be a flexible thinker, someone who can bend and shift and change their ideas. This can mean letting go of being attached to your own idea.  ‘Rigid thinkers” have few options, everything is black or white. They might even use the phrase, “that’s the rule”.   Those are the kids who struggle the most and are the ones who tend to be “over reactors”.  Teach them how to assess the importance of the issue is:  is it a big one, or a small one? Who thinks it is big or small?  Remind the student that no one really cares who wins or loses but others will remember who had the temper tantrum. 

Skills of entering a group.  Kids sometimes need to be taught the rules of how to come into a group and how to leave it. Point out that when everybody in the group is quiet and a noisy person joins them, the group will likely become annoyed.  Encourage the student to take time before approaching a group.  Figure out the group energy first. Then, help them learn how to match that energy before entering the group.  

Staying connected with a group conversation if you are not really interested can be challenging for the student.  Suggest they ask a question or make a comment. There are two kinds of questions which our speakers have named:

• World Wonder, such as “How tall was your hotel?” World Wonder questions ask for facts about the world or the things in it. 
• Social Wonder, such as “Did you like the place you stayed on vacation?  Or, Did you have fun?  .In other words, Social Wonder questions ask about the thoughts, feelings and experience a person has.    

Boredom:  Teach the student how to handle boredom in a class by asking an interesting question. The key is learning how to fake it, to pretend interest.  Remember, everyone experiences boring moments every day.  Our kids need to learn how to tolerate them, how to make the most of them while staying connected to the other people they are with when the boredom occurs.

Finally, I found it interesting that several kids attending this seminar had no fear of asking questions as they shared their complex challenges of making friends. 

For more information contact:   

            Dominique Baudry -  http://www.socialskillgroupwork.com

            Jahna Pahl – http://www.growingsocialskills.com

Thanks to Jahna Pahl who provided additional insight for this blog.

Recently Parents Education Network (PEN) in San Francisco sponsored a lecture for school teachers given by Dr. Todd Rose. Dr Rose is on the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he teaches a course on Educational Neuroscience. He is also co-chair of the summer institute for Mind, Brain, and Education sponsored by Harvard.  Add to these credentials is his work as a research scientist with CAST, a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through a program called Universal Design for Learning.

According to the Society for Neuroscience, neuroscience is the study of the nervous system which advances the understanding of human thought, emotion, and behavior. The focus of his talk was neuroscience and its relationship to learning.  He emphatically stated new learning science information is emerging.  “We are confronting what do students need for future learning, especially those with learning differences.” 

After showing us a view of the brain networks and their broad distribution encased in our head, he cautioned that it’s not just about knowing the networks, it’s the context that’s important.  It seems that the networks are variable in all persons and surprisingly most are not relevant to learning. The context refers to what is happening in the environment in which one is learning. 

Next he added the component of working memory which is the ability of the brain to actively hold information in the mind. Without this retention complex tasks such as reasoning, comprehension and learning become next to impossible.  Again it is important to remember that working memory is very variable.  In a classroom of thirteen year olds, the variability might include a student with the working memory of an eight year old  as well as a student who has a working memory like a dolphin.   It’s no wonder that teachers are challenged as they teach! 

When the student is under stress or threat the emotional component compounds the difficulty for one’s working memory.  On the other hand, the same student when feeling confident can do many tasks. The challenge for the teacher is to leave space in the teaching process for this variability.   

If a student can’t hold a goal in mind, it means that the working memory is no longer in operation.  Kids who are not able to automate the core basic skills are sending a signal that he or she is probably a learning challenged child.  

Next Dr Rose addressed the topic of Executive Functions: His definition includes:  the ability to plan, organize, be goal directed and a self motivator.  He feels planning is a skill.  It involves working memory.  A child/student who struggles with this task needs to be given the tools to learn it.  Goals really matter.  Focus on one goal only. A secondary goal often means the child will get lost.  Teachers need to be careful not to ask more than what the child can handle to be successful. 

He re-iterated that working memory really matters now.  Adolescents are increasingly not able to organize their time because there is so much information.  They have to be taught how to use it. e.g:  Twitter and Facebook.  

These two following important skills are what teachers must take the time to teach. 

1.         Search:  It’s not simply a matter of finding the information, just as important is

discovering what to do with the information.  Kids with poor working memory get lost with the second step. 

2.         Organization:  We are past the point where kids can do stuff in their own heads.  We have to get better at cognition/working memory. Students need to learn how to better leverage  their environment and the numerous technologies. 

Other drawbacks to a good working memory.

Writing notes is a huge task for working memory.  Any kind of motion is distractible and a hindrance to working memory.

Tools that help a good working memory.

Meditation does help some.  Mindfulness exercises are important because the individual has to settle down and be quiet.  Exercise in the classroom can make a child comfortable and has a major effect on increasing the ability to succeed.  

Finally, the educational process has to improve so that new information reaches teachers and it includes details on how to use the information.  

Dr. Todd Rose can be reached at http://isites.harvard.edu/todd_rose or todd_rose@gse.harvard.edu

During EdRev sponsored by Parents Education Network (PEN) at the Giants Baseball Park one of the seminar discussions focused attention on The Future of the Special Education Services in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) who are transitioning from Youth to Adulthood.

The two leaders were: 

 Cecilia Dodge:  Assistant Superintendent for Special Education, San Francisco Unified School District

Juno Duenas, Executive Director, Support for Families

At the outset the speakers provided a brief outline on the approach being taken at SFUSD.  Their Special Education Services are guided by a US federal law, IDEA  (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).  This legislation indicates how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities. It addresses the educational needs of children with disabilities from birth to age 18 or 21 in cases that involve 13 specified categories of disability. All States have elected to accept federal funding under IDEA.

Six Principles on which IDEA was built are:

• Free and appropriate public education
• Assessment
• Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
• Requirement of parent participation
• Procedural safeguards to ensure rights of children with disabilities and their parents will be protected.

 With this background, the speakers focused their presentation on the needs of a child who will be transitioning out of high school into the work force. They recommended that parents look at this transition process utilizing the following five-step outline.

• What are the child’s goals for the future? 
• What skills does the child have?  What skills do they need to pursue his or her goals?
• What support and services will they need to pursue these goals?
• Where should your child receive these supports and services and who should provide them?
• How can a parent ensure that the plan for the child is being implemented?

The speakers commented that if a youth has an IEP, then, by age 16 the IEP should include transition planning.  Juno Duenas, Executive Director, Support for Families, informed us that her organization provides training for parents in the process of transition which also includes strategies to include the youth in this transition planning, ensuring the youth is leading their transition plan by providing input.

At this point, the attendees formed two groups to outline their recommendations for SFUSD. A format was provided:   How do you feel about the topic of transition? 

Some of the comments were:

Relating to the heart: 

• Kids need to be invested in the process of transition.
• SFUSD needs to provide employment choices for those who don’t know what they want to do. 
• Parents, themselves, need to do goal setting.  Be a role model.  Show your child what you see doing when you are older and outline the skills you need to acquire to make that happen.
•    Provide an environment which sets the student up for success.
  • Let the student/son or daughter  know that if they need you, you are here for them.   Give them space to explore to be sure they have a place to be happy.
  •  Remember fear goes with the unknown.  As a parent, work with your kid to expand the potential of opportunities.  Be careful not to say “no” too often. 
  • One teacher commented that she has a fear for one of her students because her student’s goal is to be a stripper.

 Relating to the Head:   What does your youth need to know and/or what additional questions do you have that would helpful to us in our planning at SFUSD?

• Make unknown known.
• Provide the necessary skills for what their heart wants.
  • Recommend that parents let go so their kids can have their head to explore and go for it.
  • Concerns: 

                               How will a supervisor or boss relate to our child?   Perceptions are at issue.

                               Disclosure:  How much do students need to tell future employers? 

                               If students are given a right they have a responsibility.  How do we re-enforce this?

 Relating to Hands:      What ideas do you have for SFUSD to improve the transition to adulthood?   What ideas do you have about community partners?

• Let the students run the IEP rather than the professionals. Currently students speak the least at the IEPs. 
• Provide means to assist the student to determine their likes and dislikes.  Students need to learn hands-on skills:  eg vocational
• Offer more vocational and workablility opportunities.
  • Providing the family with links to organizations and services that the child is interested in.  Parents don’t have the time so school needs to do it. 
  • More mentors and, of course, a common theme, more funding
  • Develop links for networks including social networks: eg  Twitter, Facebook.

I found this seminar very useful.  As I am not involved with the school education process my only connection is through the press.  The details provided by the leaders of this seminar and the feedback from those attending has given me a different frame of reference.    

Contact Info:

            Juno Duenas,  Support for Families of Children with Disabilities (SFCD): 

                        phone:  425 282 7494, e-mail info@supportforfamilies.org

                        www.supportforfamilies.org

            Cecilia Dodge:   San Francisco Unified School District SFUSD

                        Phone:  415-379-7697, e-mail:  dodgec@sfusd.edu

Note:  Juno Duenas reviewed this blog before posting and added information to make the description more complete and accurate.  Thanks, Juno.

The San Francisco Giants Ball Park stadium and field was the home on Saturday, April 16^th, 2011, of EdRev, (Education Revolution) celebration. With the theme Stand Up, Speak Out this day-long event produced by Parents Education Network (PEN)  brought together the largest national gathering of students who learn differently. Their families, educators and professionals joined to support them and together they educated themselves on a variety of learning differences.  

With the Giants playing field as the backdrop, at the mid-morning point, the large number of attendees gathered in the bleachers to hear Dr. L. Todd Rose, a young and successful faculty member at Harvard. What made him unique to this learning challenged gathering was the fact that his schooling process and his learning difference, ADHD, had so hampered his ability to learn that he was a high school drop. By nineteen he had gone through twenty minimum-wage jobs, become married and fathered a son. Then eureka happened.  One day his father-in-law said to him: “You are lazy.”That statement confused Todd.  He knew he wasn’t lazy.  Something else was going on.  He decided to make notes every time he was fired.  This step brought him an important insight. The reason he got fired generated from his boredom.  As soon as he had learned the skills of the job, such as a checker at the check-out stand in the grocery store, he became bored.  Then he began acting out.  

One night he shared his insight with his father: “I know why I have trouble keeping a job.  I get bored so easily.  I need a job where everything keeps changing.”His father commented:  “Those jobs exist but you have to have an education.”  

This was the impetus Todd needed. Now, he had the drive to get his GED (high school graduation). Working fulltime, he continued taking college night courses and graduated at the top of his class with a 3.97 GPA. Next he was accepted into the doctoral program at Harvard University, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Todd is now Co-Chair of the Mind, Brain and Education Institute at Harvard University as well as being a research scientist with CAST, a non-profit organization focusing on creating next–generation learning environments that will work for everyone.  And, he is in his thirties! Todd’s personal story gave him the insight into his passion for his professional life. He remembers well how much he hated school where he was not learning anything.  Now, he has  become an outspoken advocate and scientist developing the next steps for the educational process.  

He claims there is good news!  A learning revolution is taking place in the science milieu.  At the moment it’s silent. These explorers have developed a simple equation to define their task.                                                  variability x context = outcome.   

At first I was mystified when he presented this.  What did he mean?  Here’s the answer.   

Learners today include a variety of learning differences (ADHD, dyslexia, hyperlexia, aspergers as well as learners who can digest new information as taught using the current education system.)   These differences with their special variations/characteristics define the Variability of the equation.  Context refers to what is happening in the environment in which one learns.  For Todd, he knew he was working very hard in school but his school environment was not addressing his learning needs.   

Predictable. Todd’s outcome was predictable:  boredom and then failure. With this equation as the basis of his presentation, Todd turned his attention to the students in this large crowd encouraging them to accept the fact that they can be in control by being an advocate for what the need.  How do you do it?  You have to know your own variability. Begin to document your patterns. As you start to know your variability you have control.  Then, you can find a way to put yourself in better contexts.   

And, Todd empathized:  I know there are many of you like me, smart, but unable to access the information. You need to say what you need to learn. You need to state your problem for the current education system is outdated.  And, ask the question:  Does your learning environment value curiosity as you take responsibility for shaping your behavior?    To the parents in the audience he said that he and his colleagues know now there is scientific proof that all sorts of variables exist in the brain which support the statement that learning challenged learners require different solutions.  Leave the space open for your child to discover his or her variables and value their judgments about their needs.  My colleagues and I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as “you having knowledge”. “We know absolutely for sure that we can vary what you know based on what context (environment) we provide for you in which to learn.”  

His parting comment to the students was: “ There aren’t easy answers.  However, you may have more control than you can possibly imagine.”  

Todd Rose contact info: (http://isites.harvard.edu/todd_rose).

Prior to the KeyNote address, the opening feature was a video welcome from Andres Torres, the San Francisco Giants Center-Fielder. In 2002 Andres was diagnosed with ADHD.  At the time he was struggling in the minors to become a major league baseball player. In 2007 he sought treatment, began taking medication, and learned to develop strategies and support systems to help him become a key player. Torres’ struggle to triumph was an important example to those present in the grandstand.  Torres made it clear that through struggle came the desired result.

Listen to audio version of post:  hit Barbara Kalmanson

Recently Barbara Kalmanson was a speaker at Parents Education Network in San Francisco.  Barbara is a clinical psychologist and special educator who has worked with infants, children and their families for over 30 years. She is also a founder of the Oak Hill School, a developmental, relationship-based school for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum and related neurodevelopmental disorders.

Her two-hour lecture on the topic “Why does he do that?” – Identifying and empathizing with the social-emotional side of learning differences  - was so full of information, it was almost overwhelming.  I am reporting on a just a few of the highlights.

Ms. Kalmanson used a metaphor: down stream and up stream. By this she means some upstream activities are throwing children downstream into the river because they can’t find a solution upstream.   The challenge for parents, teachers and psychologists is to see what is causing the child to go downstream.  For example:

• Children who seem cautions and fearful may have low tone in their muscles, or have visual and spatial issues which make them moody and anxious.
• Some children have issues of sequencing and memory, perhaps from an insurmountable set of activities, or disorder in their environment.
• Some children don’t seem to have flexibility.  They can think of Plan A but if that’s not possible don’t know how to develop Plan B.
• Some kids are controlling and demanding:  could be an auditory process issues. He or she can’t figure out the sounds coming at them.
• Some kids try to control the topic. They could be doing it because the discussion is going beyond what they can understand.

The challenge for parents, teachers and therapists is to put themselves into the shoes of their child or student to know what the child or student is feeling inside themselves.  The goal is to discover  the cause of the disturbance. Its affect predicts the future.  In other words, the upstream experience predicts the downstream behavior.

Ms. Kalmanson commented that temperament is the “how” of behavior and described nine dimensions:

1. Activity:  how physical motion is going on
2. Rhythmic:  regularity of movement and psychological functions.   If a child needs and doesn’t have a predictable routine there’s an emotional sequel to that.
3. Approach/withdrawal:  reaction of a child to new stimulus e.g.: are they happy when they first go to school?
4. Ease in modifying reactions.
5. Intensity energy level of responses.
6. Mood:  how much does the child feel life is pleasant?
7. Persistence/attention space.
8. Distractibility:  effect of extraneous stimuli to ongoing behavior.   Do they notice when a fire truck goes by?
9. Sensory threshold:  how much stimulation does it take to get a response?

In tandem with these dimensions are Risk Factors that are associated with school performance.

1. Low task orientation
2. Low flexibility:  negative approach and social difficulty
3. High reactivity which could mean low sensory input.

Principles of assessment look at upstream issues:  Usually it’s advisable to look for a specific symptom, e.g. poor eye contact.  That symptom provides information that it is a functional limitation.  Then, look at the larger functional capacity.  Is there an intimacy connection?  Is the child thinking: how does someone know what I am feeling?  Most important, can the teacher,  parent or therapist empathize with the child/student?

The above highlights some areas Ms. Kalmanson encouraged parents, teachers and therapists to observe in their child or student.  The more the child’s behavior is understood the less opportunity for upstream disturbances and downstream behavior.

Dr. John Medina:  Brain Rules for Teachers

The second lecture on Friday, January 21, 2011  that Dr, John Medina presented  at PEN (http://www.parentseducationnetwork.org)  was titled Brain Rules for Teachers. Dr. Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and author of the New York Times bestseller, Brain Rules, began with a familiar theme outlined in his previous lecture, Brain Rules for Parents. The brain is designed to solve problems, related to surviving, in an outdoor setting and to do so in constant motion. Secondly, the brain is incapable of multi-tasking.  It takes a person twice as long and the margin for error is 50% when a person is multi-tasking. In other words, if you do well at task A, you don’t do well at task B. 

Keeping these core premises in mind, Dr. Medina moved on to discuss sleep. It seems that animals, particularly gazelles, sleep in short segments to keep themselves aware of any predator about to attack. Similarly, we wake up during the night and if stressed, sleep eludes us. Stress is an arousal force if left unchecked and will keep a person awake!  

Dr. Medina moved on to the topic of the brain’s need for sleep in mid-afternoon between 2 PM and 4 PM.. The brain wants a down cycle. It’s time to take a nap. Another way of expressing this idea is that the brain wants to rest 12 hours passed the midpoint of a person’s previous night’s sleep. “You may ignore this suggestion but you will not change the need,” he commented. It seems that an astronaut’s crew followed this discipline and there was a 34% improvement in the output of their work.  So, Dr. Medina’s recommendation for teacher is: Do not teach between 2 PM and 4 PM.    

Dr. Medina’s discussion moved to the importance of each person knowing their daily rhythm including sleep times. 20% of the population he calls Larks. They are early birds, ideally waking at 6 AM and going to bed at 9 PM.  Their productive time is the morning, peaking at noon. 20% of the population he calls Owls who ideally would go to bed at 3 AM and wake at 11 AM. The rest are Hummingbirds and fall into a “regular” day pattern. A person who is a Lark cannot transform into an Owl. You can try, but your body rhythm will not change.

 In summarizing sleep he said most of us are sleep deprived, a reason why school children who stay up late doing homework or other activities can seem unfocussed in school. When the students get to college and can take classes at the times when they are at the best, this behavior falls away.  Dr. Medina suggested to teachers:  The school of the future will have Owls teaching owls, and Larks teaching Larks.  At this point teachers can’t control the sleep cycles of students but teachers can control how they teach.  

In the second hour Dr. Medina described how the brain is wired. Using metaphors of Interstate Highways (trunks), city boulevards and alleys to describe the wiring. He claims trunks are the same in all people but the city boulevards and alleys are different in each person. It is in the latter where learning occurs. And, yes, we all learn differently. So teachers take note:

1.  The brain is not interested in learning, it is interested in surviving.  Teachers need to be able to improvise off this learning base.

2.  A teaching system, or any system needs to have two approaches to learning, memorizing and improvisation.  If one is taught to learn and then improvise off it, the data base of the person becomes accumulative.  The knowledge edge is accumulative.  

A teacher needs to develop their ability to have empathy. He suggests they give energy to learning how to penetrate inside the minds of their students. This can be taught, and Dr. Medina emphasized, kindness and safety will do more than anything else in your classroom. 

In the third hour the focus turned to memory.  Dr. Medina cautioned that if a speaker says that memory works in a specific way, run out of room. It is not true. There are 40 memory gadgets in the brain. At the moment we know very little about them and we know very little about how they react. 

 What we do know is that when a piece of information comes to the brain and the brain decides it is important it will put the information into a buffer memory. This buffer can hold seven pieces of information for thirty seconds.  If it is not repeated within the thirty seconds, the brain will dump it. If the teacher or the student internally repeats it, the information goes into another buffer – working memory. Working memory has its own series of rules including that it will hold the information for only two hours.  If not repeated within two hours, the brain will drop it. 

So, for teachers, Dr Medina suggested transforming the 60 minute lecture into three 20 minute segments. The first being the information, the second a different activity, the third repeating the information taught during the first twenty minutes. This approach might obviate the need for homework!

 If the information is repeated within two hours it is then recruited by brain for long term storage in the hippocampus located in the brain. It may take a decade to become permanent which is the reason why information within ourselves can become corrupted.  At some point the hippocampus releases the information into the cortex. In this final phase, the information becomes infinitely retrievable.

 This memory process is a hint for teachers. Children who learn information in grade three cannot count on the information being imprinted in the brain for ten years. Students need to be retaught what they have learned. The brain is unbelievably sensitive to repetition.  Remember, the brain was not designed to be in the classroom it was designed to be in the jungle. 

Dr. Medina had two final comments:

1.         The hippocampus is affected by drugs. Marijuana stops the process of integration of learning.

2.         The greatest predictor of the ability to learn is the emotional stability in the home! 

There is more information on Dr. John Medina’s lectures for PEN.  See blog Brain Rules for Parents. Dr. Medina’s website is: http://brainrules.net. His books are: Brain Rules and Brain Rules for Baby.

Brain Rules for Parents

Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and author of the New York Times bestseller, Brain Rules was a guest speaker on Thursday evening, January 20^th at PEN. (http://www.parentseducationnetwork.org)  He is also an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, School of Medicine and the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University. 

This evening his topic was Brain Rules for Parents. Dr. Medina is an energetic man with a robust physique and voice. His approach to lecturing involves stories that prove his points, facts quickly offered and a point of view that stops the listener in his or her tracks. He has much to share that is cogent and exciting. He envisions how it could be in the future implementing the information that he and other brain scientists know for sure about the brain.   

At the outset of the evening he kept reiterating that the brain’s unified performance envelope is designed to solve problems, related to surviving, in an outdoor setting and to do so in constant motion. In other words, the brain isn’t interested in learning, it’s primary concern is surviving. 

With this fact in mind he moved to the topic was stress. Stressed brains don’t learn in the same way as normal brains. He suggested to parents that if your child is stressed see what they are running from. The trigger points are the problem. The more out of control the child (or adult) is feeling, the more the learning, including short and long term memory is affected. 

Dr. Medina then turned his attention to the “home” stating that the single predictor of academic success is the emotional stability at home. Marital conflict causes stress not only for the couple but also their children. If there is marital conflict when the baby is in utero and the partners work on their relationship during this time both the baby and the relationship benefit. In other words when adults are able to control themselves both individually and in partnership, they change the nervous system of their kids. He said that if the woman is feeling she is being heard by the man, the marriage works. An important key to being heard is that the woman is able to communicate her psychological behavior in the way a man can understand it. He can then respond by examining his behavior.  

 A stable home environment is particularly important for kids with learning disabilities. There are some kids who are hyper active because they don’t feel safe.

There is good news around what improves the stressed conditions. Aerobic Exercise:  Aerobic exercise affects something in the brain that assists the memory process. It has been proven that memory can change as a result of this type of exercising. The caveat is that the exercise program must be continuous (30 minutes of aerobics 3 times a week). Scientists are now researching the value of exercise for both ADD and ADHD conditions.  Reason: exercise affects the brain chemistry. The more an individual saturates the blood with oxygen, the less there is depression (merely increasing the amount of oxygen without aerobic exercise did not have the same effect.) He emphatically stated: PE, physical education, is the most important hour in a kid’s academic life! 

There is more information on Dr. John Medina’s lectures for PEN.  See blog Brain Rules for Teachers. Dr. Medina’s website is: http://brainrules.net. His books are: Brain Rules and Brain Rules for Baby.

On Thursday, January 6^th, 2011, PEN (www.parentseducationnetwork.org)  hosted a discussion with four college students challenged with learning and attention difficulties.  They shared some of their experiences both in high school and college and gave advice to parents along with high school students  challenge with learning and attention difficultues as they prepare for taking the step to college.

 Common themes during the discussion:

 College:

1.         College environment is much more accepting of students with learning challenges than high school.

2.         It seems easier in college to build community with others.

3.         In college there seems to be less of a stigma around requesting accommodations.

4.         Professors are more available to students than teachers in high school.

5.         Professors accept who you are.

6.         When you find a professor you like, eg: who uses different media throughout his or her lecture, see if he or she offers other courses you can take.

7.         Note taking is easier if they give out Power Point summaries

8.         College registration process is “horrible”.  Can be hard to get the class you want.  E-mail the professor and ask for his or her help. Use texting – ask you be informed when a class opens up.  Get counselors to help you.

9.         Don’t sign up for classes that won’t work for you. Eg:  if you are not good in the mornings, schedule your classes in the afternoon.  Be sure to schedule classes that relate to your best ability.

10.       College is actually fun:  no longer have to spit out answers

11.       College is more understanding about hitting walls:  it’s expected.

12.       The participants in this discussion said they find they need more sleep in college.  The tests are harder and one participant said that more sleep helps. 

High School:

1.         SAT: 

Be sure to ask for accommodations before taking a SAT.

Be thorough with all documentation and meet all the deadlines

One participant said he was rejected at a college based on the results of his SAT.  As he had great grades, he changed his approach and found schools that looked beyond the SAT.  He is doing well in college.

2.         When you are writing your essay as part of the application for college, disclose your disability. Add stories about it.  Share why you like your disability. Share your strengths as a result of your disability. Put something in that essay that makes you unique.

3.         Teachers are preparing you for college and as a result they seem to be constantly evaluating and judging you.

4.         High school has so much homework, that the students found they didn’t get enough sleep.

5.         High school provided tutors.  They helped us become independent. They helped us learn how to tackle the obstacle ourselves. Again self advocacy was encouraged. Have to learn how to do this in school. Only as a last resort is it appropriate to have parents step in.

6.         The hardest things in school was getting teachers on the same page.

7.         Standardized tests require a lot of preparation.  Only so much tutoring can help.  Very important to learn the tricks about these tests.

 General Keys to being successful in both college and high school. 

1.         Be a proactive self advocate.  

If you are shy, begin by using e-mail to a teacher or professor. Have a friend support you in the process.  Keep self advocating with your professors, even if you are no longer taking his or her classes. Office hours of a professor can be jammed. E-mail in advance for an appointment.

2.         Find a teacher/professor/counselor who will help you define your learning style.

3.         Always go to every meeting with your questions prepared and document the responses. Take all the information you need to make this meeting successful.

4.         Get to know the system of the school or college 

Managing 1^st year college away from family and other support 

1.         Take an easier load in 1^st year.

2.         Get the accommodations you need.

3.         Make use of Kurzweil, Dragon, BookShare, Win, Inspiration (supports visual thinking techniques) or other assistive technology.

4.         Go into college with an open mind.  Be willing to find out who you are. Be willing to change your course of study in mid-stream. Find courses that you love.  Makes learning so much easier.

5.         Be ready to assume more responsibility for yourself.  You now have to set your own schedule. Get comfortable using a calendar to keep on time.  Put dates from syllabus where deadlines are stated so you have papers in on time.  A couple of the college speakers highly recommended the Mac.  Note taking and calendar are excellent with this system.

6.         Develop a work study system.

7.         It’s important to have your own computer:  can save info there, good for time management and much more. 

Do you feel that having a disability better prepared you for college? 

1.         You know how to handle hitting the wall, you know how to push through the wall because you hit it before in school.

2.         You have learned in school how you learn and what strategies work for you.

3.         You have learned in school how to be an effective self advocate:  need to continue in college.

4.         And, you need to continue to be open about your disability and be organized. Play with your strengths

5.         However, a lot of students are 1^st diagnosed in university or college.

 General Comment: 

The speakers encouraged the parents: As soon as you find out that your child has a learning disability, tell them.  In the long run it serves them.

On Friday, December 10^th  2010, Jeffrey Lazarus, M.D, a Menlo Park pediatrician who specializes in the treatment of situational anxiety and test-taking anxiety utilizing clinical hypnosis, was the speaker at PEN’s morning session held at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.   www.parentseducationnetwork.org.

Dr. Lazarus works primarily with children and feels that clinical hypnosis can assist students with their academic performance if they are affected by anxiety or distractibility.  Clinical hypnosis is defined as helping another reach a highly focused state of mind.  In that condition a student is able to visualize doing things he or she didn’t expect they could. 

Anxiety happens when a student overestimates the risks/challenges or when he or she underestimates his/her resources.  For example, a child who starts coughing because he feels anxious can in a highly focused state of mid learn to stop this condition before it gets to the cough state.   One of Dr. Lazarus’ students visualized a stop sign and now uses this image as a tool when the condition begins to make its presence known.  

 If negative self-talk is the issues, he helps the student learn how to deep breath, relaxing their muscles as he teaches them meditation, positive self-talk and clinical hypnosis/guided imagery.  Dr. Lazarus was clear that a highly focused state doesn’t necessarily mean an individual is relaxed. Rather, the guided imagery process enables an individual to find a place in their imagination where they feel relaxed, like a beach or driving down a mountain, or listening to music, whatever.  It’s that state that the student recalls during times of stress.

 The issue of distraction or lack of focus where the student might be thinking about recess, playing after school or remembering a fight with a friend/student can also benefit from clinical hypnosis.  The process of visualization can provide confidence and focus. 

Dr. Lazarus commented that he screens his patients before introducing clinical hypnosis into their life.  If he discovers the child has a hearing or vision issue or learning disability that requires special attention he recommends other specialists in the field required.  He was clear this approach is not for everyone. However, his experience and the results have proven to him and his clients that clinical hypnosis provides an opportunity for an individual to perform differently. It helps students think about how to solve their problems.  

More can be learned about his approach on his website:  http://www.jefflazarusmd.com.

Damon Korb:  Meltdowns to Shutdowns 

In early November, 2010, Parents Education Network in San Francisco presented Damon Korb, MD, whose specialty is developmental and behavioral pediatrics. He is the Director of The Center for Developing Minds which provides care for children and young adults who struggle at home and at school.  This specialty clinic, located in the Silicon Valley, focuses on behavior issues, learning difficulties, attention problems, social skill deficits, Autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays and psychological disorders. 

Dr. Korb’s topic was Meltdowns to Shutdowns. He began with an encouraging statement.  Most children grow out of their meltdowns meaning that they have learned the skills they need to handle their behavior.  He went on to state that oppositionality is a normal behavior as the child matures. Beginning at birth, a baby chooses either to gaze directly or averts it. At 8 weeks a baby begins to initiate a “dialogue” showing what he or she wants. At 9 months, they want Mum.  At twelve months tantrums can begin.  At 4 years the child has confidence and will start wandering off and so it goes. 

According Dr. Korb there are four ways that oppositional behavior can be defined: by becoming familiar with a child’s temperament, environmental facts, a child being thwarted of a need and failure to learn pro-social behavior. 

Dr. Korb throughout his two-hour presentation kept returning to the importance of understanding the child’s temperament. He cautioned: if you are a parent set on a path that your child needs to take in life and it is in conflict with the child’s temperament, this is a recipe for oppositional behavior. 

When defining the child’s temperament he suggests considering several components: a) what is their rhythm to determine their regularity, b) how do they respond to new information, c) how adaptable are they, e) are they intense by nature? f) what is their mood pattern? g) what is their attention span – are they easily distracted, are they persistent and h)are they sensitive?  

He offered several temperament tips that increase results between a parent and child.  Remember to appreciate your child’s strengths, give positive messages about the child to the child along with lots of praise. Keep in mind you can help your child change behavior but not their temperament. Avoid criticism for things that are just about individual style.  Let your child know that you are listening. 

Environment factors revolve around the kind of environment parents are providing for their child. If a child is growing up in a stressed environment caused by marital discord, poverty, legal problems, mental health, depression, anxiety, drugs or alcohol it is most like that the child will exhibit oppositional behavior. He commented that he and his staff spend a lot of time working with parents, encouraging them to focus on their unresolved issues.  He cautioned: parents who are not managing their behavior be aware, your children will copy your undesirable behaviors.   

The third characteristic, thwarting of a need is both simple and complex. The simple: ensuring the child is being given food that serves him best, has lots of sleep and many hugs. The complex revolves in part around issues like – the need to provide regulations/house rules so that the child can learn how to regulate his or her life. In Dr. Korb’s family, dinner every night is at 5 pm and his five children are expected to be present. They have specific times when they are to be in bed. A special effort is made to control noise to avoid over stimulation. 

Dr. Korb made reference to Dr. Eric Erickson, a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst talking about his theory on social development. There are eight stages, four of which were mentioned during this talk:

1. Hope: basic trust is the first ingredient for an infant.  If trust exists at that age, the child is more likely to grow up believing what you say.
2. Will: autonomy versus shame and doubt.  This is tricky.  The toddler wants freedom and must be offered it and at the same time the child needs to learn how to limit him or herself.
3. Purpose: initiative versus guilt.  The kindergarten child needs to express creativity but can easily put into guilt if the discipline process is not consistent and generous.
4. Competence – Industry versus inferiority. Age 6 to adolescence. Self worth becomes an issue here.

 Failure to learn pro-social behavior.  Dr Korb was clear that the responsibility for the child to learn social behavior lies with the parents.  Setting criteria and keeping to it is essential for every aspect of the child’s life.  So, when the child doesn’t turn off the computer when asked, set the criteria and then hold to it.  Give warnings:  “You have five minutes more on the computer.  It must be shut down within five minutes.”

 If a child is given time out, when they re-join the activity find a reason to complement them.  Then, later when the issue is no longer a sore point, find time to discuss with the child what happened and re-iterate the criteria. 

Dr. Korb spent some time talking about behavior patterns coming from a learning disorder and offered several areas to consider:    

1. Executive skills. This function is controlled by working memory.  The child’s ability to organize and plan his or her life is a component.  They need schedules, lists, routines so the parent doesn’t need to nag so much.  They need to be prepared to handle change.  . 
2. Language processing skills. These children need to know how to communicate, how to express what they feel. This is essential for them to stay out of trouble. 
3. Find ways to send a message that celebrates the strengths of the child.

 If a child experiences a meltdown, recognize that it is a panic attack. Be with them helping them to find a way to calm down.  Once the meltdown is over consider the steps to take. If it’s a teenager who experienced the melt down, it’s time to consider where they are developmentally when they are in the behavior of melt down.  It may be necessary to back up with parenting to that level. Remember: to the child, it’s not about the meltdown it’s about everything that happened before the meltdown.  Later, when discussing the meltdown with the child, make an effort to diffuse the situation by offering collaborative problem solving.  In summary Dr. Korb said behavior problems are learning disorders. Meltdowns are 99.9% predictable. 

Dr. Korb recommended three books:

• Carol Gray’s Social Stories. These books describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format. http://www.thegraycenter.org.
• Michelle Garcia Winner and Chris Abildgaard’ book  Social Thinking and Applied Behavior Analysis is one several publications addressing the needs of individuals with a broad range of social and communication challenges in their communities. www.socialthinking.com.  
• Ross Greer, The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children.

Attention Deficit Disorder Discussion Report

Friday, October 22^nd, Katherine Ellison, author of the recently published book, Buzz, was the speaker at Parents Education Network in San Francisco, CA.   A mother of a son who has ADD, her book vividly describes her family’s trials, tribulations and successes with the challenges her son faces. She was also very frank about herself letting us know that she, too, has the same brain aberration. 

A brief description of ADD culled from the field’s leading experts set the scene. The core problem is a weakness in the brain’s inhibitory system. She describes it as “faulty breaks”. The symptoms include impulsiveness, forgetfulness and distraction. 

Before reading a dramatic scene from her book, Ms. Ellison, a successful newspaper reporter and author, shared that Jack, her husband, and her two sons were torn apart with the tensions generating from challenges her oldest son, nine years old Buzz, faced. Writing her book was the only way she had to handle the family crisis. She described her inability to stop herself going into reaction, screaming at him, even spanking him when he said horrible things. Now, she understands that he was in his own world and didn’t see the cause/effect relationship of his comments.   

This drama heightened as she read a scene from her book, describing her efforts at 6 am to get Buzz up for his Spanish class, a class he enjoyed. Rising from bed, taking a shower, eating breakfast was chaotic ending in a verbal war between mother and son.  As Buzz exited, slamming the door, Ms. Ellison experienced an “ahha”. She realized she was bordering on not loving her son and was stunned!  She saw that her ADD and his were sparking each other’s worst side. She knew she had to be the one to change and turned her attention from her own distress and challenges with her ADD to her child. One of her strategies that had positive effect was finding ways to show Buzz that he was loved by her. This meant thinking twice before yelling when Buzz employed the “oppositional defiance kicker”. She reframed her feelings and took the advice of the writer, Toni Morrison: “Light up when a child comes into the room.”  At first, there was little immediate return. However, the more she released control the better the results. Slowly they were able to talk about what happened and sometimes he would respect her point of view if not accept it. 

Ms. Ellison enlisted her husband to become more involved and at this point her presentation Ms. Ellison’s invited her husband, Jack, a quiet, loving, somewhat distant husband to join her.  They shared they have clashed over different parenting styles on subjects such as TV, food, bedtime etc.  

The Ellisons then opened the morning session to questions.  Mothers and some fathers reported similar challenges and asked for advice. Topics covered a wide span:

• ADD kids have a hard time with social interaction Most agreed that friends of an ADD student from Grade 1 and 2 had long disappeared, no more play dates.
• Questions around the value of “consequences”: eg.” if you do this you will lose the use of your laptop” were brought to the fore. Most agreed that ADD kids are less sensitive to the concept of consequences and thus bribery doesn’t work.
• More often than not the discussion moved to drugs, Ritalin and others.  Are they effective, are they damaging?  It seems these mood changing pills enable the distracted child to be comfortable with her or himself and they became more open to learning.  However, there was no agreement on the long term effect.  Ms. Ellison’s son did use drugs for a time, but then chose to stop. This topic kept re-emerging with no resolution.
• There seemed to be a general consensus that private schools in Marin County are less effective in handling children with ADD than public schools.
• The Ellisons encouraged parents to invest time helping their ADD child find something he or she is good at.  This effort does pay off.  Buzz discovered pleasure with  tennis. He is now coaching tennis with little kids and his social interaction is improving.

 Throughout the  morning Ms. Ellison suggested.

Outsource homework.  You have enough to handle in the house and need space from the battles over homework.

Find a way to become an ally – if it means taking the child out for pizza.

Choose your battles, Let some things slide. 

Do your best to balance attention with all children in your family. Those not affected by ADD need to feel that they are being fairly treated.

Try meditation and neuro-feedback. At first she used bribery to get her son to the sessions. But, they had some success with both.

Most important is reconnecting with your child, finding a way to let him or her know you love them, get back to a point where you can hug.

 Finally, Ms. Ellison urged parents who have a tendency to ADD behavior to get tested for diagnosis.  Don’t continue investing energy in covering up.  And, then find a way to slow down.

 The two hour morning session flew by.  Ms Ellison’s book, Buzz, is published by Voice, Hyperion, New York and is well worth the investment.

Parents Education Network in San Francisco sponsored a talk on Assistive Technology in early October, 2010.  The speaker, Jan Tuber, is a staff member at Parents Helping Parents, a non profit organization based in San Jose, CA.  Ms. Tuber had an enormous amount of information to share.

 Assistive technology refers to a device, (any item, piece of equipment, product system) used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability.  Ms. Tuber underscored the changing behavior of this broad field. New and updated products appear on the market unexpectedly. Keeping abreast is a challenge.

 General comments Ms. Tuber made for parents and teachers: 

• Don’t buy a product until you have sampled it by training on it.  Many people get excited about the potential of the product but lose interest fast if they have not committed to the training.
• Many developers offer their product for a testing period – often thirty days.  Take that offer and test the value of the product to your situation.
• Have a clear sense of the learning disability challenge to be served. Take the time to understand the student’s barriers to learning eg: does the student have memory or note taking or graphic challenges?   Then, match the learning style and needs with the tools.
• Teachers:  be sure to order assistive technology tools when books are being ordered for the year.

 Ms. Tuber had many websites listed in her handout that address different learning styles.  Some are listed below. She suggested a good way to start exploring assistive technology is with Low Tech Supplies.

 Low Tech Supplies: 

Filters, Lottie Kits, Reading Rulers, Franklin products, pencil grips, AT notebook, raised line paper, handwriting guides, highlighter tape, margin maker.  The following websites are valuable for research and potential purchase.

•  www.onionmountaintech.com  This site Ms. Tuber considers a “bible”
•   www.beacon-ridge.com
• www.mayer-johnson.com
• www.levenger.com
• www.therapyshoppe.com
• www.AssistiveWritingSolutions.com 

Audio Support

• www.rfbd.org:   (Recording for the blind and dyslexic). You can download their material to your computer.
• Victor Reader Stream
• iPod/MP3
• Audio/TTS: Classmate Reader
• www.humanware.com
• www.audible.com   This company has monthly subscriptions for materials that can be downloaded.
• Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. 

Graphic Classics

• www.amazon.co.uk
• Shakespeare Comic Books: www.shakespearecomics.com

              Edited original text in one color, and modern English text translation in another. Fully illustrated comic style presentation.

• Classical Comics: www.classicalcomics.com
• Original Text, or Quick Text versions
• Full color graphics
• No Fear Shakespeare: www.amazon.com,
• www.sparknotes.com
• Simply Shakespeare: Barron’s Educational series, Inc

 Tools for Comprehension:

• Intel Reader:               reader.intel.com
• Click,Speak:                http://clickspeak.clcworld.net/
• WordTalk:                   www.wordtalk.org.uk/ (Win)
• Readplease 2003: FREE or professional version (Win)   www.readplease.com, www.dyslexia-software.com
• Natural Reader: FREE or professional version, (Win)
• www.naturalreaders.com
• GhostReader (Mac):
• www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/ghostreader.html
• TexEdit Plus (Mac):
• www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/9013 (shareware) 

Tools for Comprehension:  Comprehensive Text-to-Speech Programs: 

• WYNN: WYNN Reader, WYNN Wizard text-to-speech reader. www.freedomscientific.com
• Kurzweil 3000: Text-to-Speech reader
• www.kurzweiledu.com
• Read & Write Gold: Text-to-Speech reader
• www.texthelp.com
• Read: OutLoud:
•  www.donjohnston.com 

Tools for Writing:  Word Prediction/Spelling

• Word Q:                    www.quill.com
• Co:Writer:                 www.donjohnston.com
• WriteOnline:            www.cricksoft.com
• “Sounds like”-Spell, Write!   www.afh-net.com
• SpellCatcher: (Win/Mac)      www.rainmakerinc.com
• Ginger Software:       www.gingersoftware.com
• Breme Write Right:   www.bremesoftware.com
• Franklin Spellers:      www.franklin.com

Note: Onion Mountain has pens which don’t click.  However, some students need the click to keep them focused.

Tools for Writing: Talking and Portable Word Processors

• Talking Word Processor       www.readingmadeez.com
• Write:OutLoud                         www.donjohnston.com
• WordTalk, Free                         http://www.wordtalk.org.uk
• The Writer Fusion                   www.writerlearning.com
• Embedded in programs such as WYNN, Kurzweil, RWGold

 Note:  This approach works best if the student has aural challenges rather than written.

However, they need cognitive ability to see errors. It takes patience to get this technology working as the student has to learn commands as well as being willing to take the time to set the voice recognition component. 

Tools for Writing

• Inspiration & Kidspiration:           www.inspiration.com
•  Report Writer Interactive ( and Write it Live):  www.ftcpublishing 
• Paragraph Punch/Essay Punch:     www.meritsoftware.com

              Other programs address grammar, comprehension & vocabulary

• Draftbuilder: (SOLO                          www.donjohnston.com
• Livescribe’s Echo Smartpen:        www.livescribe.com/smartpen

 Finally, a comment about Parents Helping Parents.  Their signature Assistive Technology service, Techsploration, provides more details on Assistive Technology as well as an opportunity to experience the tools “hands on” through a guided session in their iTECH demonstration lab. To contact Ms. Tuber in San Jose call (408) 727-5775 or jan@php.com.

Summary of talk by Claudia Koocheck,  Head of School at Charles Armstrong, in Belmont, CA, Friday, September 24^th, 2010.

The first speaker of the 2010-11 PEN (http://www.parentseducationnetwork.org) Speaker Series in San Francisco, Claudia Koocheck, focused most of her remarks on the role of parents whose children are learning challenged. She speaks from first-hand experience as Head of School at Charles Armstrong, a much respected Northern California independent elementary and middle school for students with learning challenges. One facet of her responsibilities is meeting with parents on a continuous basis giving them support while challenging them to move into new paradigms to support their children through the schooling process.

Parent’s reactions after learning a child has a learning challenge.

Ms. Koocheck talked about parent’s shock after discovering that their child has learning differences. It’s a hard fact to absorb and especially true when parents have specific goals for their children emanating from the time of their offspring’s birth. The child they pictured is turning out not to exist.Parents become confused and upset. Ms. Koocheck understands as she helps them walk a new and unexplored path.

Need for parents to change and grow as they help their children

One of the first steps in this journey is encouraging parents to think beyond themselves and their needs.  Now is the time to accept their children as they are and to put emphasis in collaborating with the teachers to achieve the best results for them.

Most parents want an academic path for their child. This step may be achievable but not in the traditional way. A learning challenged child’s brain learns differently which can mean some kids don’t test well.

Often parents lay the fault with the academic environment mostly because they don’t know how to help their child. Sometimes parents resort to hiring a tutor or a coach hoping these steps will solve everything. It does, in some cases, but not the total answer.

Fixed Mindset versus Growth Mindset

A Fixed Mindset from a parent or child derails progress. This behavior can be best expressed when a parent is focused on how good their child is academically or more tragically, when a child thinks he or she is stupid because they can’t master the traditional schooling process.

The goal for parents and learning challenged children is to develop a Growth Mindset, one that opens doors to new approaches. It is much more important for the child to learn something in a class than to get the best grades.  This means focusing on the process, not the results. It’s about effort, not about the outcome. The child wants and needs to enjoy learning. It may come from an unexpected way like a child drawing pictures to understand what they are learning. So be it.

Hints for parents:

• Don’t ask “how was school?  Broad questions are difficult. Instead start with something small like “what did you learn in music today?”
• Invest effort in helping the child discover and move from some skill they are good at. Movement, music, art can be an effective tool to help a learning challenged youngster learn.
• Learning challenged children read information in a different way: through tone of voice, body language, etc rather than intellectual information. Ms. Koocheck gave an example of a child coming home from school, feeling sad and not having the words to say what is wrong. It may be that at school they realized as a result of the teacher’s behavior, not words, that they are different from everyone else. They are perplexed because but don’t know why.
• Keep reminding your child that he or she is smart by asking, “how did you do that?” This question gives the child a chance to digest what he or she accomplished while experiencing the joy of sharing the success.  Note: the phrase, “great job” doesn’t have the same affect. In fact, it may have the reverse. It may not be a “great job” in the traditional way of mastery and learning challenged children know that!
• Kids don’t know what they need until you show them. Give them options.
• Children have a challenge asking for what they want.  To make her point, Ms. Koochek used the analogy of an adult deciding he or she will ask for raise and all the fears and hesitancies that come with that decision.  The same is for the child.  Be sure to provide a safe environment for the child to open up. Then ask: “what do you want to say to me?” Remember: it is the parent’s responsibility to teach their child how to address another and to ask for what they need.
• After providing a safe environment consider these three possible communication tools to help a child share how they are feeling.

1. Sticky notes: one with a thumbs up and one with a thumbs down.
2. Face charts with many different emotional looks along with a description of each is each useful. Ask the child to point at the face on the chart that best describes how they are feeling at that moment.
3. Ask questions.  Ask the child to raise their hand when the response is correct.

The goal is to get to the point where the child develops a sense of ownership. It will only happen in a safe environment.  Remember the learning challenged child comes from a sensorial point of view.  They read body language and tone of view before anything else.

• Don’t correct the children’s homework.  If you do the teacher will never know where the child is struggling.

Dyslexic Simulation Process

As part of Ms. Koochek’s presentation she suggested parents learn what it feels like to be a dyslexic.  The Northern California Association of the International Dyslexic Association offers a dyslexic simulation process where parents can demystify themselves. The next simulation is Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, 9:00 am-12:00 pm at the San Francisco Day School, 350 Masonic Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118.  For more information go to www.dyslexia-ncbida.org.

Summary

Ms. Koochek had much more to say.  In summary, she encouraged teachers and parents to foster resilience in the child. The desire end results are 1) self motivation, 2) self direction, 3) self advocacy, 4) emotional well-being, 5) social connections and skills, 6) self awareness 7) Self control.

And, parents, remember, applaud teachers and their efforts. They want your kids learning and you happy.

Recommended books

Ms. Koocheck gave high marks to two books:

1. Mindset, The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, (2006), Random House Publishing Group, New York.   It describes how kids perceive themselves.
2. Brooks, Robert and Goldstein, Sam (2003), The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in Your Life.  New York Contemporary Books/McGraw Hill.